January Highlights

 Rescue Bots continue to be a favorite of Gideon's.  It is fun to watch and listen as his imagination takes hold of him.

 Thomas and Spring performed a cello/piano duet of "How Great Thou Art" in Sacrament Meeting.  Even though one of Spring's strings snapped just minutes before Sacrament Meeting began, they went on flawlessly.  Love to hear the music they fill our home with.

 Jacob, Sara, and Gideon-The 3 stooges I am blessed to spend my days with!

 We call him rooster or spike...hoping he will soon outgrow this stage of insta-mohawk!  We can't get it to stay down regardless of how much gel or product we use!

 Josh joined the ranks of his older brothers with glasses this month!  I can't believe how grown up he looks with them.

 Friday afternoon and Thomas sat down to finally relax and watch "Cyberchase!" :)  Jacob quickly climbed onto his lap and snuggled right in.  Not sure which one enjoyed the snuggles more...I think it's a toss-up!

 Sam has the magic touch as he was able to calm Jacob down enough for him to fall asleep!

 Sara has really began to love coloring and drawing this month.  Unfortunately, it's not always on paper.  We have had masterpieces on carpet, walls, and doors.  Let's say she has done a lot of scrubbing and cleaning this month.

 Love snuggle time.

 Figured we would document our monthly shopping trip to Aldi.  2 full grocery baskets and $546 later and we are good to go for the month...other than milk and produce throughout the month.  So grateful for a store like Aldi and for the team effort at home as we all work together to put the groceries away.

 Unfortunately, this is the new and coveted spot to watch cartoons while enjoying a snack.  You would think that with the number of times I remove them from the table they would get the hint, but they just wait till I walk out of the room and climb right back up!

Sara is our singing star!  We always find her singing the new songs she is learning in Primary as well as the youth songs that Thomas and Spring enjoy listening to.

January was a mild weather month in which Spring and Sam are still wearing shorts and sweatshirts to school each day.  They are anxiously awaiting winter to finally arrive.  It is the first January since we have lived in Ohio that we weren't blessed with a snow day!  That was tough!  Our weeknights were full with basketball practices (spring, Sam, Mary, and Josh), jazz band practices for Thomas, music lessons for Spring and Thomas, scouts, YM/YW, Activity Days, and church responsibilities. Saturday is full with 4 basketball games each day as well as whatever else comes up.  Thomas and Spring are often employed to babysit Fridays and Saturdays as well.

As these crazy days become our norm, I am reminded of who grateful I am that Joel and I were both raised in homes that valued and cherished family meal times.  We have continued this tradition with our family from the beginning.  Somedays it is the only moment when we are all together.  We have family scripture study and then eat dinner.  During dinner Joel asks each person about a good part of their day as we all get to listen and share.  I am so grateful for the peace that family meal time, family scripture study, and family prayer bring into our home and the lives of each of us.  Their is unity and love that is formed in these brief, yet consistent, efforts.

Sam's Final Pinewood Derby

Sam competed in his 3rd and final Pinewood Derby tonight.  Hard to believe that he will be in Boy Scouts in less than a year.  Where has all the time gone?

He created a Steelers car this year. Joel is great at letting our sons do the work on their cars.  It is fun to see them progress each year and be better and more capable as they develop their skills.  Sam told me the best part of the pinewood derby is, "It's something that I get to do with just me and Dad!"  

Sam took 1st place in the Pinewood Derby and will be competing for the 3rd year in the District Pinewood Derby event.  I love how the boys in our pack all had a great time together.  It's fun to watch them together.  After the race was over, the boys and siblings began an impromptu game of kickball in the gym.  If I were to be completely honest, I think that was the highlight of the night for Sam and most of the other boys, as well!

Activity Days Camp

Spring decided to plan, organize, and run a day camp for the Activity Days girls.  She mentioned that as she was that age she saw her brothers head off to day camp each summer and wished there was something for the girls to do like that.  So, for her Good Works Value Project, she made this a reality for the girls of the ward.  

She planned activities about Family History, entertaining young children, learning how to grind wheat and bake bread. They completed a service project cleaning all the nursery toys.  They made bean bags to practice sewing skills and then they played lots of fun group games.  The girls had a wonderful time. 

I am so impressed with Spring's efforts. She contacted women in the ward to teach different mini-classes. She established the schedule of the day and sent the information to all the leaders.  She learned a great deal about all the behind the scenes planning that goes on for an activity like this.  She learned that she had planned more than they could accomplish in the time frame so she had to make decisions on what to leave out and what to keep.  

I am grateful for the Personal Progress program.  It gives these young women opportunities to develop talents and discover talents they didn't know they had.  It also allows them to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of doing.  This particular activity helped create a bond between the younger girls and Spring so as they move into the Young Women's Program they will already know and have a relationship with one of the older young women.

Jacob's First Steps

Tonight as we were all cleaning the kitchen after dinner we looked over, in total awe, to see Jacob sweeping the floor.  This was the first time any of us had ever seen him take a step and he was taking multiple steps while "sweeping" the floor.  After Joel quickly took video of the momentous occasion he said to me, "You never told me he could walk!" to which I replied, "I didn't know he could!"

He quickly became the center of attention as he showed off his newfound skill.  At almost 18 months old we were wondering when he would finally begin this new stage.  He continues to love the broom and sweeping.  I have to hide the broom from him sometimes because it, unintentionally, becomes a weapon as he walks around the house with it.